See You in the Morning | Classic Crusade Message

Let's all pray together.

Lord, we have just sung your praises and really worship is prayer set to song because you have given us a new song. I pray for the people that have joined us tonight. They are kind of wondering what exactly they have walked into. I pray they will leave with a new song too. I pray that they will leave with a joy like they have never known before. And with a hope like they have never had before I pray Lord that they will leave with you. That they will leave with Jesus Christ in their heart. So speak to each one of us now as we open your Word.

We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

What a great night. Alright. The title of my message is, See You in the Morning. How many of you have GPS?

Raise your hand. You have GPS. I don't know about you but I am navigationally challenged.

I get lost all the time. So if I am going to take a drive somewhere I will punch in the address on GPS. And then you start driving.

And I don't know about your GPS but mine talks to me. It will say, turn right at the next off ramp. Turn right at the next off ramp. And then if I don't turn right at the next off ramp and I keep going it says, why did you not turn right at the last off ramp? Then it will actually say, I told you to turn right at the last off ramp.

So I have to actually go into settings and take out the nag feature so it stops doing that. But sometimes I have had my GPS actually take me to the wrong place because it is not doing its job well. Here we have the sophisticated technology working with satellites.

And think about this. God put a GPS system inside of a lot of birds. Birds have a homing instinct. One of them is called the golden plover native to Hawaii. The plover migrates during the summer to the Aleutian Isles.

Now listen. The Aleutian Isles are 1200 miles away from Hawaii. So these little birds make the trek over there. They lay their eggs and their little fledglings are born. Then the golden plovers just leave. And they leave the little baby birds to figure it out. I wonder if they you know tell them. Let me just tell you. You know you go by Krakatoa which is east of Java. You know hang a right. Go straight.

No. They don't tell them anything. The little birds are born and without ever having been to Hawaii before amazingly they fly there on their own. Because God put a homing instinct inside of them.

So listen. The next time someone calls you a bird brain take it as a compliment. I believe God has put a homing instinct inside of us too. A homing instinct to go to a place we have never been to before. And that place is called heaven. The Bible says that God has placed eternity in our hearts.

We long for this from really the day we are born. And by the way heaven is not the default destination of every person. You don't get to just go to heaven because you are an American. It is only the destination of those who have put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.

And I am going to tell you how to do that tonight so you can know you will go to heaven when you die. But see we start our lives out on a search. It starts in our childhood. We are just little kids. We think if I just got that toy I saw advertised on TV I know I would be happy. I remember when I was a little kid I got a pretty good haul for Christmas.

I was pretty happy about it. But I had a friend that he got his gifts and for some reason he got something I wish I had received. It was a little plastic skin diver toy.

Now understand this is the 60s so things are relatively primitive back then. A little plastic skin diver. You put two batteries in him. You dropped him in a pool and he sunk to the bottom and little bubbles came out of him. I thought I don't like anything that I have.

I know I would be happy if I had that plastic skin diver. It is stupid. What is that saying?

The only difference between the men and the boys is the price of their toys. Then we get a little bit older and we say, well maybe if I could just find a girlfriend or a boyfriend then I would be happy. So you get that boyfriend.

That girlfriend. Then you say, well if I could just be engaged to them then I would be happy. So you get engaged. Then you say, well if we got married then we would be happy. So you get married. And then you say, well if we could just have children we know we would be happy.

So you have children. Then you say, if we could just find a way to get rid of these children we know we would be happy. Then you start looking around and you say, oh man if I was just single again I know I would be happy.

On and on it goes. Or you might say, hey I would be happy if I had this sexual experience. Or I would be happy if I tried this drug. Or I would be happy if I had this possession.

And on it goes. You know what it is? You are longing for God. Deep down inside that is what you are looking for. God. And you have a desire to go to heaven.

Because listen. We are celebrating 25 years here of crusades. It is hard to believe. And then we are looking back at 40 years in our church and I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. The Bible says in the book of First Chronicles we are only here for a moment.

Visitors and strangers in the land as our ancestors were before us. Our days are like a shadow gone so soon without a trace. Before you know it you are old. You know you always look at those old people.

And one day you look in the mirror and you are one of those old people. I heard about three guys that were buddies. And one day they discovered that they all shared the same birthday. So they decided they would go out and do something fun. And they were talking about where they could go. And one of the guys said, hey I hear there is an amazing restaurant down by the water. These guys are in.

They are all 50 at this point. There is an amazing restaurant down by the water one of them says. And they have really pretty waitresses.

Let's go. So they go down and they celebrate together. They let another 10 years pass. Now they are 60. One of them says, hey let's go back to that restaurant down by the water.

They have really great food. And then another 10 years go by and they are 70. One of them says, hey let's celebrate down at that restaurant by the water again. They have great wheelchair ramps. And then they hit 80. And they are trying to figure out where they should go. They are amazed they are still around.

And one of them says, I heard about a restaurant down by the water. Let's go there. We have never been there before. Before you know it life is going to end. And then comes eternity. Only a few years ago my friend Frank Pastore was here. He would lead us in prayer. Now he is in heaven. Last year Pastor Chuck Smith was still with us. Now he is in heaven. Six years ago I have already mentioned my son Christopher was here with us.

Now he too is in heaven. And it is hard. Especially with my son because I still miss him. People say after six years are you over it. Listen don't ever ask a person who has lost a child if they are over it. They are never over it.

You just get through it day by day. I grieve still believe it or not. But I do not grieve hopelessly. I grieve hopefully because I know I will see him again. That is the hope of the Christian. That is the hope of heaven. A Christian never says goodbye.

We say see you later. I heard the story of a Christian man who was dying. He was terminally ill. So he called his three boys to his bedside.

Two of them were believers. So he said to them, goodbye boys and I will see you in the morning. Then turning to his third son who was not a Christian with sadness in his voice the father said, goodbye son. The boy said, dad why did you say I will see you in the morning to my brothers and not say that to me. The father said, son because you have not asked Jesus Christ into your life to be your savior and what breaks my heart is I will never see you again.

The boy began to weep and said, father I want to see you again. Then you need to trust in Christ right now. That boy prayed and accepted the Lord so the father could say to him as well, I will see you in the morning. That is our hope.

Well I see you in the morning. Have you put your faith in Jesus? You know we talk about heaven. It is kind of hard to wrap our mind around this place we have never been to. The problem is our minds have been filled with all of these caricatures of heaven from Hollywood and cartoons and other sources. So it is hard for us to imagine what heaven is really like. We wonder is heaven real? What will we do in heaven? Will we know one another in heaven? What will our new bodies be like? Let's answer a few of those questions. Number one. What is heaven like?

Simple answer. Heaven is an actual place. Jesus said, I have gone to prepare a place for you. Heaven is a real place for real people to do real things.

You see. We often think of heaven in a mystical way. Sitting around on clouds, plucking harps with fat little baby angels sort of hovering above us. That is not biblical heaven. That is cartoon heaven.

Now listen. Heaven is a real place. Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once made this statement. I don't believe in an afterlife so I don't have to spend my whole life fearing hell or fearing heaven even more for whatever the tortures of hell. I think the boredom of heaven would even be worse. What a stupid statement. Heaven is not a boring place.

The Bible describes heaven as a paradise. Remember when Jesus died on the cross next to Him was a thief. Probably worse than a thief. He was a hardcore criminal because He was being crucified by Rome. So He probably was a murderer. An insurrectionist.

We would probably call him a terrorist. He came to a census hanging there on the cross and He said, Lord remember me when you come into your kingdom. Jesus turned His face to that man and said, truly truly I say to you today you will be with me in paradise.

Heaven is a paradise. Paul writes about dying and going to heaven. Yes the apostle Paul was stoned.

Not that kind of stoned. He was pummeled with rocks and loved for dead. He went to heaven.

I wonder what happened when he got there. I wonder if the Lord said, Paul welcome. I have some good news and some bad news. Paul would say good news and bad news.

What is the good news? Paul the good news is you are coming back again. Paul would then say what is the bad news? God would say there are some Christians down there praying that you will be raised from the dead. Paul would say don't listen to their prayers Lord. They are sinners.

Listen trust me when I tell you this. No one in heaven if given the choice would ever want to come back to earth again because it is paradise. Paul talking about that experience said I knew a man who 14 years ago was seized by Christ and swept into ecstasy to the heights of heaven.

I don't know if this was in his body or out of it but I know this much. He was hijacked into paradise and he heard the unspeakable spoken and was forbidden to tell what he heard. Heaven is a paradise.

Number two. Heaven is a city. On more than one occasion the Bible describes heaven as a city. Hebrews 11 says God is the architect and builder of this city. Hebrews 13 says we have a city that is to come. Now think of a real city.

You have been to. Cities have buildings. Cities have culture. They have art.

They have music. They have goods. They have services.

They have events. Don't think of sitting around on a cloud. Think about the best cities you have ever visited and then think of heaven. Because whatever you have experienced that is great on earth will be so much better when you get to heaven. Because heaven is the original.

Earth is the imitation you see. Heaven is a paradise. Heaven is a city. The Bible describes heaven as a country. In Hebrews 11 we desire a heavenly country that God has prepared for us. Heaven a country a city a garden a paradise a place.

Now listen. Earth is wonderful. God made this earth we live on. And I don't think anyone enjoys life on earth more than a Christian. No one enjoys the beauty of a sunset more than a follower of Jesus Christ because we see the signature of our Father there. We know the God who did that.

No one appreciates the love of family and friends more than a follower of Jesus Christ. The Bible says that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. Then Jesus took time to admire a simple flower.

And He picked one up and He said, consider the lilies of the field. They don't toil nor do they spin. Yet Solomon in all his glory was not as beautiful as one of these.

Here is the great thing you need to know. For the Christian living on this earth this is as bad as it will ever get. So if you are saying to me tonight, hey Greg my life is pretty good. Then that is fantastic because listen Christian this is as bad as it is ever going to get. But listen if you are a nonbeliever this is as good as it is ever going to get.

This is as good. You say, well Greg my life sucks. Yeah that is the problem. It is going to get worse.

Way worse. And I will tell you what I mean about that in a moment. But we have a hope as a Christian that as good as life is on this earth better things are coming because the best is yet to come.

That is good news isn't it? God is going to give you a new body. You are not going to become another person. You are going to still be you in heaven.

You are just going to be the radically upgraded version. The blueprints for your glorified body are in the body you now possess. Heaven is the earthly life of the believer.

Glorified and perfected. On the other side we are going to know more because we are going to become like him. Sometimes people ask will we know one another when we get to heaven. What do you think you are going to be more stupid in heaven than you are on earth. Of course you will know more.

God will give you that ability. And we will be reunited with friends and family. You know when Jesus died and rose again from the dead He appeared to His disciples. He was popping up practically everywhere. He is there with Mary at the tomb. He is there with the two disciples on the Emmaus road. Then He is there with the fisherman apostles down there by the Sea of Galilee. Then we see Him appear to 500 people at once.

It is like He picked off where He last left off. So if you have a loved one in heaven. Let me just ask you. How many of you have a loved one in heaven. Raise your hand.

See that is almost everyone. You will see them again. You will be with your family again. You say, but Craig I have a weird family.

That doesn't excite me. Good news they won't be weird anymore. And best of all you won't be weird anymore. Yeah but what will we do in heaven. Heaven sounds boring. Or we are going to be worshipping the Lord. We are going to be serving the Lord. But here is another thing. We are going to be eating in heaven. Yes you heard me right. How many of you like to eat food. Raise your hand. Oh yeah.

I thought so. You look like a hungry bunch to me tonight. The Bible says in Revelation the angel said, blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.

These are the two words of God. I love that word supper. I have a lot of friends in the south and when you are going to go have dinner with them they say you want to have supper.

Here in California we call it dinner. I was raised for a number of years by my grandparents. I called them Mama Stella and Daddy Charles.

They were from Arkansas where Jack Graham is from as well who led him prayer. So every night my grandmother would make a meal from scratch. We are talking the best fried chicken you have ever had.

We are talking black eyed peas. Mashed potatoes. Collard greens.

Have you ever tried collard greens. Amazing cornbread. But the crowning achievement of my grandmother's cooking was her biscuit. I have never had a biscuit like it before.

It came out it almost radiated with lights. Oh and I just think ma'am when we get to heaven surely the Lord would employ the abilities of my grandmother to make biscuits for us as we sit down and we eat together. Can you imagine not only being reunited with friends and family but meeting the great patriarchs and matriarchs of Scripture.

Matthew 8 and 11 says, people will come from the east and the west and take their place at the feast with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Can you imagine sitting down and having a meal with these great men and women of God and say to Moses, Moses would you mind passing the manna. Thank you. Hey Elijah my meat is a little underdone. Could you give it a little more fire. Hey Lot could you pass the salt.

Oh Lot you are so sensitive. Get over it. If there was only a heaven it would not be enough. But as they say in those commercials, but wait there is more.

Listen to this. As a Christian you will not stay in heaven forever. The Bible tells us one day heaven will come to earth.

This will not be a sequel but a remake. God is going to remake all things in Revelation 21. God says He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death nor sorrow nor crying.

No more pain for the former things that passed away. Behold I make all things new. That is what God is going to do. He will make all things new.

Think about it. In this world that is coming it is out with the old and in with the new. No more terminal diseases. No more hospitals. No more wheelchairs. No more funerals. No suffering.

No separations. No accidents. No courts. No prisons. No divorces. No breakdowns or breakups. No suicide. No rape. No missing children.

No drug problems. No more heart attacks or strokes or Alzheimer's or cancer. No more famines or disasters because God is going to make all things new. We all like new stuff. A lot of people are excited about the new iPhone that is coming out. What is it going to be like? The fanboys are drooling.

They want that new technology. That new outfit. Oh my new TV show is coming on. My favorite show is coming on soon. I can hardly wait. We like new stuff.

Listen. God likes new stuff too. He is going to make all things new. God is not only going to give you a new body as a Christian. He is not only going to make a new earth. Right now tonight He can make a new you. Change you on the inside.

The Bible says, if any man be in Christ he is an altogether different kind of person. The old things have passed away. Behold everything becomes fresh and new. God can do that for you tonight. I will tell you how that can happen in just a few moments. Listen.

This is fantastic. This is the hope of the believer. That is why we can have hope in this crazy world. My hope is not in politicians. My hope is not in government. My hope is not in manmade solutions. Our hope is in God tonight. He is the only one that keeps us going. There is a better world coming.

This is for the Christian only. For members only. Remember those jackets for members only? They were big in the 80s. Did any of you have one of those? Some of you I see are still wearing them. The little Eplets. Remember? For members only.

We wore them. For members only. What were we members of?

I don't know but it is for members only. What I have just shared with you is for believers only. Now what happens to the non-believer?

I am going to be straight with you. What happens to a non-Christian when they die? We have to go with John to heaven to find the answer in Revelation 20. John says, I saw a great white throne in him that sat on it from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away and there was found no place for them. I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God. And the books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. And the sea gave up the dead that were in it. Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them and they were judged.

Each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades was cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This is an ominous scene.

It is serious. It is sobering. Maybe the most tragic passage in the Bible. Abandon hope all you who enter here are the famous words above the gates of hell in Dante's poem Inferno. Who will be there in that day that we have just read about.

Listen. Everyone who has rejected God's offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Who will be there? There will be sinners there.

Let me explain. There are a lot of sinners and there are variations of sin. First there will be the out and out sinners.

Oh you know them. They hate God. They go out of their way to mock Christians. They have no belief at all. They may be an atheist. But they have no place for God in their life. They even mock God. They are going to find out the truth of the statement of Scripture that says, don't be deceived.

God is not mocked. Whatsoever a man sows that will he also reap. So out and out sinners will be there for sure.

But listen to this one now. Self-righteous people will be there too. See these people think they are too good to face judgment. They may be kind. They may be considerate.

They may be volunteers. But they don't think they need God and being at this judgment comes as a shock to them because they thought they could work their way to heaven. But the Bible says it is not by works of righteousness that we have done but according to His mercy He has saved us. The Bible says we are not saved by works but by the grace of God.

Number three. Procrastinators will be there. These are the people who may have been closer than the other two groups but they weren't close enough. They weren't necessarily antagonistic toward the gospel. In fact they would say things like, you know I would like to believe in Jesus and one of these days I think I will believe in Jesus. But that day never came. They will be there because they effectively resisted God's offer.

Listen to this one. Church people will be there. And by church people I mean people that went to church but didn't know God. Did you know it is possible to go to church and not be a Christian? Going to a church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a donut shop makes you a cop. Don't get upset.

The cops are like what? I am just kidding. Ok. No but going to a church doesn't mean you are necessarily a Christian. You can be baptized. You can be receiving communion.

Maybe you even walked down an aisle and prayed a little prayer. But if you never really put your faith in Christ you could be there in this day because you knew about God but you didn't know God. I think Jesus has a lot of followers. Like people have followers on Twitter. You know. You are not really a follower.

You are just an observer. Church people will be there. They live double lives thinking they are fooling people. Hey they put on an act and go to church and act like a Christian. But then they live another way.

They talk about heaven and they live like hell. Let me tell you something. You are not fooling God. You can fool all of the people some of the time. You can fool some of the people all of the time.

But you can't fool God any of the time. You must receive Christ. Here are all these people. Everyone will get there. It doesn't matter if you are a king or a queen or an emperor or a president or a rock star or a billionaire or an actor.

If you don't put your faith in Christ there you will stand. Even Rolling Stone, Keith Richard will be there. Why do I bring up Keith Richards?

Because he made a statement in an interview. I would like to do it in his voice but you wouldn't understand what I am saying. He said, the devil doesn't bother me. It is that God that blanks me off. I won't use the word Keith used. Him and his reign. You wait until I meet that blankety blank. Speaking of God. Then he says, doesn't he know who we are? We are the Rolling Stones.

Ooh. You know for years the Rolling Stones have been touring. They are still singing that song. Time is still on my side. Have you looked at Keith Richards lately? Or Mick Jagger. Somebody.

Time is still not on your side. The Bible says the books will be open. The books are open.

What is in these books? One of them is probably a book of God's law. Or the commandments of God. The Bible says God gave the commandments that every mouth may be stopped and all the world will be found guilty before God. Effectively the Ten Commandments open our eyes and shut our mouths. Some people say, well I live by the Ten Commandments. That is all the religion.

I need. I love it when people say that. I will say, really. Well tell me the Ten Commandments. Uh.

Uh. They don't know them. Let me tell you a few of the Ten Commandments. You shall not take the Lord's name in vain. You shall not steal. You shall not lie. You shall not commit adultery. Have you ever done any of those things? No. I have never done them. You are lying right now.

Check this out. If you have broken one single commandment that is enough to keep you out of heaven because the Bible says if we offended one point of the law we are guilty of all of it. So one of those books may be the Ten Commandments. Maybe another book will be a record of every time you heard the gospel. So you will say, hold on now. No one ever told me about this final judgment. I never heard about Jesus Christ.

No I am sorry. They will have a record. Here on earth we have a record of so many things. There will be a record of every time you have heard the gospel most likely.

Maybe even a little replay of it. There you are in Sunday School as a child. Here you are as a teenager walking down the street and someone engaged you in a conversation about Jesus. Here you are a little later going to a church service.

Here you are at the Harvest Crusade and you are just looking at your watch wondering how to get out of here. You will be held accountable because you have heard the gospel and knowledge brings responsibility. So we read this and we say it is not fair. How could a God of love send people to hell.

Listen to me now. This God of love. He doesn't send anyone to hell. The last thing God wants to do is to send any man or woman uniquely made in His image to this place called hell. Hell wasn't made for people. Hell was made according to Jesus for the devil and his angels. God wants you to go to heaven. That is why He sent His Son on a rescue mission to this planet to die on the cross in our place and absorb God's wrath in our place and to suffer and die and to rise again so you don't have to go to hell. No God doesn't want you to go there. He wants you to join Him in heaven.

So here is your choice. You decide your eternal address. You decide by the decision you make about Jesus Christ whether you will go to heaven to that paradise to that place to that city to that country and be reunited with loved ones who have died in faith and receive that new body and then see heaven come down to earth again one day or you can go to this place called hell where you will be separated from God for all eternity. It is either goodbye or see you in the morning.

Listen to this. You don't go to heaven to find Christ. You go to Christ to find heaven. You can do that tonight.

You say all right Craig. I want to go to heaven. Tell me how. Listen. Number one you have to admit you are a sinner. That is hard for some people. But the Bible says all of us have fallen short of the glory of God. Every one of us have broken God's commandments. Every one of us falls short of his standards. Coming back to good people for a moment.

Listen. I will concede there are good people out there who are not Christians. And to be really honest with you I have met some non-Christians that are nicer people than some Christians I have met. But being a good person doesn't get you to heaven. Heaven is not for good people. It is for forgiven people you see. But even if you are a good person relatively speaking listen you are not good enough because you are not perfect. Jesus said be perfect because my Father in heaven is perfect. So you fall short. You are a sinner. Recognize that.

Number two. Realize that Jesus Christ the Son of God died on the cross for your sin. Yes He died for the world but He died for you. I love the way the apostle Paul personalizes it. He says He loved me and He gave Himself for me.

Listen. Christ died for you. It wasn't nails that held Jesus to that cross 2,000 years ago. It was love for you. For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son and whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Christ died for you.

Number three. You need to repent of your sin. What does that mean? It means you realize that these things you have done are wrong and you are going to turn from them and turn to Christ instead. The Bible says repent and be converted and times of refreshment will come from the presence of the Lord. And then you must receive Christ into your life. Being a Christian is not merely believing a creed. It is not merely going to a church.

Being a Christian is having Jesus Christ live inside of you as Savior, as God, as friends. Have you asked Him in yet? You will know if He is there. Jesus says, Behold I stand at the door and I knock and if you will hear My voice and open the door I will come in. Only you can open the door of your life. The doorknob of your heart so to speak is on the inside.

The Bible says for as many as received Him He gave them the power to become sons of God. You must receive Christ. One last thing. You need to do it now. Now. Not tomorrow. Not in a week. Not in a month. Now.

Listen. This could be your last opportunity to get right with God. You do not know when life will end.

But God does. Don't blow this. Don't miss this. You will never regret making this decision to follow Jesus.

Let me add one last thing and I am done. Jesus said, You are for Me or against Me. That means either you believe in Him or you don't believe in Him. And if you say yes to Him now He will say enter into you then. If you say no to Him now He will say, Depart from Me then. You decide.

Make the right decision. We are praying you will. Let's all pray together.

Father now. I pray for every person here. Every person listening. Wherever they are.

You see them as individuals. You love them. You sent Jesus to die for them. I pray now that they will see their need for you and that they will come to you and receive the forgiveness that only you can offer. Lord work mightily in our midst now we pray and bring many people to yourself. We ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.